Two title fights top a stacked card at UFC 273 this evening, yet the majority of fans are most looking forward to the ‘people’s main event’: a welterweight clash between Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns.
Unbeaten at 10-0 and having won all of his fights via finish, Chimaev is the most-hyped prospect in the UFC. The Russian-born Swede is set for his toughest test so far, however, when he takes on former title challenger Burns (20-4) here. A jiu-jitsu black belt with sharp striking and heavy hands, the 35-year-old Burns is a well-rounded combatant and marks a huge step-up in competition for Chimaev, 28, whose last outing was his first against a top-15 opponent in the UFC. In any case, Chimaev won that bout against Li Jingliang via first-round submission, choking the Chinaman out cold after slamming him to the mat while speaking to UFC president Dana White through the cage.
Following Chimaev’s contest with Burns in Jacksonville, Florida, the co-main event will see Petr Yan try to regain the men’s bantamweight belt from Aljamain Sterling, to whom the Russian lost the title via disqualification last year. Yan (16-2) landed an illegal knee to drop the belt to the Jamaican-American, who has not fought since due to neck surgery. Yan, meanwhile, claimed the interim title by outpointing Cory Sandhagen in a fight of the year contender in October.
In the main event, Alexander Volkanovski (23-1) defends his featherweight belt against the “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung (17-6), who received this title shot after Max Holloway withdrew from a trilogy bout against Australian Volkanovski. Follow live updates from the UFC 273 main card and prelims, below.
